Talk About Cinema

First, a quick update. As promised, I am sticking to my every other week schedule for the Abbott and Costello reviews, which means that the Keep ‘Em Flying will be released next Saturday, while tomorrow I’ll be releasing the third part of my “Looney Tunes at Capitol Records” series. Before I post that, though, there’s another cartoon record that I recently listened to that I’m interested in talking about: Yogi Bear and the Three Stooges Meet the Mad, Mad, Mad Dr. No-No . Just the idea of these characters meeting is very odd; were there really that many people dying to have the three idiots who couldn’t hold down a job meet the bear with an unhealthy addiction to picnic baskets? Now, of course, the probable reason for this happening at all was because both the Three Stooges and Yogi Bear were popular throughout the 1960s. This may be the most commercial recording the Stooges ever made. In addition to relying on the novelty of the Three Stooges and Yogi meeting each other, there also ...

We fittingly finish off Shemp Howard month with Shemp’s final feature film appearance, Gold Raiders . This western was the only feature film the Three Stooges made during Shemp’s second run with the group and they costar with George O’Brien, best known for his role in the 1927 silent film,  Sunrise . George O’Brien is a former U.S. Marshal who is working on selling insurance policies to the small town of Red Mesa. He recruits the Three Stooges in a plan to trick the crooks who are planning to steal gold shipments after he’s able to save the trio from the crooks. He also recruits the disgraced Doc Mason (Clem Bevans) and his granddaughter Laura (Sheila Ryan) in an attempt to help Doc start a new life and gain back some of his reputation. The film was shot in only five days and the quality kind of represents it. It has a fairly small scale western setting, and there are multiple editing errors throughout. For example, at one point while in their wagon, the Stooges are singing a s...